Princes LHS Limited

We have an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) which was installed around 5 years ago & regulary serviced with no issues. In October we decided we would look at using someone local. I called Princes & booked a service at £198. The service was done by engineer S (I won't use their name here). S advised me that the 2 white expansion tanks needed to be replaced as they had failed. S went into detail to explain to me that these can actually be pumped up using a bicycle pump to do it. He did not pump them up during the service visit. He told me they needed replacing & the office would provide a quote for this & topping the glycol up which was low. I noticed later in the day after S left our pressure had dropped to 0. I thought this was unusual after a service but just topped it up. We decided to go ahead with the quote of close to £400 & paid, as requested, 50% of this, so almost £200. Having spoke to two other companies regarding servicing ASHPs we were advised that if the tanks had been checked & pumped up during service it would have been very obvious if they had failed as you would know within a minute.  When the second engineer (who I will refer to as G) came out I expressed concern re the tanks & he said he would check. He looked & told me they were both fine & just needed pumping up. We explained we had a service & G asked who had done it, as the tanks should have been pumped up then but that they probably didn't bother as they were difficult to access. Embarrassing when we had to say it was Princes, the very company he worked for! Having established that there was nothing up with our expansion tanks, G pumped them up, sorted the glycol, identified a leak (loose fitting on our water cylinder) which the service record noted had been fixed previously. G left stating he had turned the heating & hot water on & would speak to the office about the almost £200 paid given we didn't actually have or need the tanks replacing, only the glycol topping up. As G had been late I had to leave immediately as I was late for work. When I got home I noticed the house was cold & there was no hot water. I looked at the ASHP usage/data & was able to see that the heat pump had not worked since G left. We have data from our ASHP to confirm this. There was also an error code on the ASHP & a noise that sounded like a bag of spanners. We spent Friday evening with no heating & hot water in minus temperatures. On Saturday morning I called Princes & they sent G back out. G explained that the grinding was the coil in the Gledhill tank & suggested this would need a longer term fix but temporarily fixed it with cable ties. This is a problem we did not have until Princes touched our system. In the years we have had our system we have never had a rattling coil & we believe it is due to G adjusting our pump settings. The error was due to a blocked filter, something G apparently tested before he left the day before & everything was working (as mentioned above our ASHP data says otherwise). We had no apology from Princes for leaving us with no heating or hot water, no apology when we were told we needed work done we didn't, no apology that the service wasn't done correctly & even worse the fact that out of the almost £200 paid out of the almost £400 quote they told us we still owed just over £80 they would waive as a gesture of goodwill. We were very clear in saying we wouldn't have paid the £80. We have had no breakdown of wor they are indicating it is £280 for topping up the glyol. They have since said engineer S did pump up our expansion tanks but they have no record of it. It is not recorded in the service form which is concerning although S did record we needed replacement tanks which is convenient that he recorded this but not what he apparantly did. Princes state 'we are confident Steve is not a liar' so they are calling us liars! Princes then quoted us almost £200 to fix the issue which was causing the rattling in the tank & the temporary fix G did. They quoted to fix an issue they created that we did not have before.

Great service from start to finish. Really easy process, always giving updates. I definitely recommend Princes LHS. I'm so happy with their service I'm considering ask them to install an heat pump this time.

Came out to give me a quote, stated he would go back to discuss with his engineers and call back. Didn't call back, popped into their office on my way past, said would call next week, still didn't call. If you don't want the job just let me know don't say you'll call and then don't bother.

We have used Princes for all the electrical and plumbing work in our new build plus the installation of an air source heat pump, under floor heating, solar panels and battery storage system. When it comes to renewables there are few people who would be able to match Matt's knowledge. Josh (electrician) and Jack (plumber) were brilliant - We took their advice on a number of matters and knew we would always get an honest and informed answer. When they made suggestions for improvement we knew we would be foolish not to take their advice! Josh came up with some excellent ideas for our garden lighting and we are really pleased with it. There have been a few minor hiccups in communication with the office staff but we cannot fault the quality of the work that has been done. On a job this size there are bound to be a few snags but these have all been resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner. Ultimately this is what matters.

I’ve had both positive and negative experiences with Princes LHS. In December 2021, they installed a Powerwall, upgraded our consumer panel, and added a secondary solar array. The installation of the Powerwall and solar array was generally good, but we experienced continuous issues with our consumer panel, which kept tripping. We had to reset the panel five or six times a day. After 12 months of communication, they eventually sent someone out to replace one of the RCDs. However, we were charged £250 for this, despite the considerable cost of the initial installation. Given the circumstances, I expected a more reasonable, parts-only charge. I later considered additional work with Princes LHS. Josh contacted us regarding the installation of a second Tesla Powerwall 2, and we paid a deposit. Unfortunately, the DNO application for the second Powerwall was declined. Although I was offered alternative options, I struggled to discuss them due to poor communication. I sent an email and left two messages with the office staff over a period of three weeks, but received no response. It wasn’t until my third phone call that I finally got a reply. This lack of responsiveness was frustrating and gave me the impression that my business wasn’t valued. According to the small print of the contract, Princes LHS withheld £180 from my deposit for the second Powerwall. I suggested, given their poor communication, that they might consider waiving this fee, but my email went unanswered. While the technical work was generally up to standard, I would advise caution when it comes to customer service and communication. Unfortunately, due to these issues, I will be seeking other companies for future electrical and renewable installations.